For once the experts are in tune with the Great British Public.

There's nothing we like more than settling down in front of the box to watch the manic antics of Basil Fawlty - and that goes for critics, programme-makers and viewers alike.

But harrowing drama, wobbly sci-fi and sticky-back plastic are not far behind when it comes to our all-time favourite TV viewing.

Those are the findings of a new poll of industry insiders to find the UK's best-loved TV shows.

Fawlty Towers, the Seventies sitcom set in a chaotic Torquay hotel and starring John Cleese, came top of the list compiled by the British Film Institute.

The hard-hitting 1966 play Cathy Come Home about homelessness and poverty was voted second, with the long-running sci-fi series Doctor Who, the adaptation of Quentin Crisp's autobiography The Naked Civil Servant and the surreal comedy Monty Python's Flying Circus also in the Top Five.

And the popular TV Heaven archive at the National Museum of Photography Film and Television in Bradford broadly concurs with the experts.

All the BFI's Top Ten and most of the Top 100 can be seen at TV Heaven, although when it comes to the favourites among visitors to the museum, they lean heavily to comedy.

The most popular programme in the archive is Mr Bean, which ironically fails to feature at all on the BFI's list, with Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, The Goodies and The Young Ones rubbing shoulders with children's programmes like The Clangers and The Magic Roundabout.

A museum spokesman said: "These are all either comedies, children's programmes or soaps because when people come out for the day, they mainly want to watch something light-hearted. Our list also reflects the high proportion of children who visit the museum.

"But we do have a steady stream of visitors wanting to watch classic documentaries and dramas.

"The BFI list is a more considered professional view of all genres of television programme over the last 50 years."

BFI director John Teckeman said: "We felt that this year, with the TV industry on the brink of seismic change, was the ideal time to reflect on the most innovative and important home-grown programmes to date.

"The BFI TV100 is a wonderful celebration of quintessentially British programmes."

To compile the list, the BFI contacted 1,600 programme-makers, together with critics, writers and executives.

A free photographic exhibition of stills from the BFI's collections opened yesterday at the National Film Theatre in London.

The full selection of titles can be explored by visiting www.bfi.org.uk/tv100 and there will be a chance to join a debate alongside industry voters on September 29 as part of TV2000, the BFI's fourth annual television festival.